1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing method for describing, in a graph that can be visually evaluated, an information search process and its transient condition, and for supporting the evaluation and processing of the graph.
2. Related Art
Recently, as people have come to realize how important knowledge management is to a business, “knowledge” for fully utilizing information, means for “correlating” information and a systematic method for “tracking correlation” have been requested, and for these objects various methods have been proposed.
Conventional techniques represent and manage the information utilization method, from the viewpoint of database transactions and work flow. Specifically, well known methods are available that employ description languages (e.g., UML) to describe processes using graphs, and methods for storing search sequences in a database system as routine processes.
These methods have as their main objects the acquisition of knowledge concerning procedures and the intercorrelation of procedural information, and in the analysis processes performed using these methods, only procedural differences are detected. For example, when the UML language is employed, procedures for the processing of information are described, and even when the object and target data are similar, due to procedural differences, information utilization methods tend to be represented by completely different graphs.
As is described above, a conventional technique that provides “knowledge” for managing information, means for “correlating” different items of information with each other, and a systematic method for “tracking correlation” are provided from the viewpoint of the database transactions and work flow. As a result, it was difficult to share knowledge with others and to re-use knowledge.
To write a process in a description language, such as the UML, the procedures for “how to” handle information are written as is described above. In other words, the description of the information itself, i.e., “what” is to be searched for and analyzed, is not the main object. Therefore, even when the object and the target data are similar, the processes tend to be represented by completely different graphs due to procedural differences, and it is extremely difficult to search for and re-use a similar graph.
Further, according to a method whereby a process sequence for a database search is stored as a routine process for a system, merely the naming is available for the routine process, and the sharing of knowledge with others and the re-use of the knowledge are difficult.